Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been added to India’s squad for the Cricket World Cup 2023, replacing the injured Axar Patel. Axar sustained an injury during the Super 4 match against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup 2023 and was unable to recover in time for the tournament. Ashwin, who recently played in the ODI series against Australia, took four wickets in the two matches. Joining Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, Ashwin will be one of India’s spinning options for the competition. India’s first match of the tournament is scheduled against Australia on October 8.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) website stated, “India have been forced to make a late change to their 15-member squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup. Axar Patel has failed to recover in time for the World Cup after sustained a left quadriceps strain during India’s Asia Cup Super Four encounter against Bangladesh. The spin-bowling all-rounder missed the final of the Asia Cup as a result. Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has been named his replacement, who was impressive on his return to ODI cricket in the recently concluded series against Australia where he picked up four wickets in two games.”
Ashwin, who previously played in the 2011 and 2015 editions, will be participating in his third World Cup. The Indian squad for the Cricket World Cup 2023 includes Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav.